Backfire
by Zhusidinuo
Summary: Jayne/River, rating M. Two years after Miranda, the money's getting tight enough so Mal accepts a deal that includes going to some prissy shindig. Ain't no way he's going to go there without his two best fighters! But, like always, things go wrong..
1. Introduction

Hi :D

Okay, to be honest, it's been ages since I've written a fanfiction, let alone an English one. I don't think I've ever written one in English! As you can guess, it's not my first language, but hey, I'm trying. I just wanted to point that out in case you found the vocabulary to be sparse. I know it's not an excuse but you know ;) Of course, the 'verses belong to Joss Whedon. It's a River / Jayne story – she's nineteen, don't sue me! – because hell, they sure look nice together. In the next chapters, I have not included the translation for the text in Chinese because I think that the context of those sentences give the meaning away, but if there is any problem, pm me or give me a review telling me to put them up and I'll do it!

Anyway… lately, I've watched the Firefly serie but found it to not be enough, so I watched the movie. Still hadn't enough of it, so I listened to the soundtracks. I found them inspiring, so in pure despair, I went and read some fanfics. I thought it would sustain me, but felt like writing, and here I am!

Hope you enjoy the story!

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Introduction

Slowly, taking her time, she looked at the water turning dark as the sun set down far away from where she was standing. For a minute, she felt like running towards the horizon to set down too, to become one with the warm pink-orange glow, and she took a step on the beach. Felt like sand under her feet. The sensation was grim, but pleasant; it was still warm after the sun had touched it for all day long.

The waves were meeting with the beach just in front of her. The ocean was her mother and she behaved like her child, needed to go home. Connected in every way, supplied her mother with her energy. She took a step towards the rim of the beach.

"Gorram it, girl! Don't you go an' wet your dress! Plans for making the Cap'n mad at me for not doing this right!" Growled the man as he got hold of the girl's arm in his big hand. "You ain't gonna do something crazy tonight, hear me?"

"The girl can't predict the flow of the river." She replied, locking her eyes in Jayne's. He hadn't had a hint of a smile on his face and she found it very unpleasant.

"Yeah well, the girl needs to keep her damned ass dress in good condition!" Jayne looked at her from the top of the head to her toes. "Where the tzao gao are your shoes?!"

Knowing he would never get a satisfying answer out of River, the mercenary, feeling awful tight in those prissy clothes, wasn't too keen on letting her get all fong luh on him. He'd rather get a dark look from his captain ; wasn't gonna get fist-happy tonight, that was for sure. He started walking back to the ship which was hiding near the ocean, dragging River with him.

"My legs wanted freedom. They don't like being strapped to these. Torture." She replied while her feet were keeping up with Jayne's rhythm. Dance.

Jayne let out a snort, his head tilting back. "Ain't gonna argue with you on that! Don't look comfortable at all. C'mon!"


	2. Chapter 1 : the deal is on

FYI : I've rated it M just in case. Also, next chapter is already written, I'll post it in a couple of days.

Chapter one : The deal is on

In theory, they knew what they were doing. In theory. That meant, in some way or the other, things would get complicated and possibly, if they were lucky, violent. Not that Mal would see things that way, but nothing better than roughing it up with the Alliance to make Jayne trigger-happy. Sure he would initiate the fight on purpose, of course not. Isn't his type at all. But, just in case tempers were lost, he would strap a few of his weapon to himself ; a big scary knife on his right calf, a little less scary knive of his left calf and a grenade in, well, on him. He kinda felt naked without Vera or his other beauties but based on what Mal said, no guns. Jayne couldn't comprehend how a soirée could be fun without guns but hey, part of the job.

Ruttin' job, if he might say.

Few days ago, as soon as the ship landed on a planet not too far of the core called Xenon, a tall and well-dressed – too much in Jayne's taste – man named O'Brian and his soldiers approached the captain and offered for him and his crew to come at his low-key bar to speak business. Since they didn't have anything to eat except ruttin' rice protein for two weeks, the captain had to accept the invitation. Tried to keep the women on board because of the bad atmosphere in town, but Zoe wouldn't have any of it, Kaylee needed to work on the ship's exterior and River, in a moment of insanity, wanted to join them to "protect the children" or some fei hua like that. She wouldn't let go of the idea, even with the doctor's pleas to stay with Serenity. She then called him a boob, which amused Jayne greatly. Only Inara decided to stay in her shuttle when she saw that there were no good men to take for clients on this planet.

Good thing she stayed home too, because, as usual, they got into a fight, and a pretty damn impressing one at that too. The whole thing was there : chairs being thrown at people, bottle of fine whisky wasted on soldiers' heads, a very bang-able waitress squealing in a corner. Only, this time, instead of being thrown out like everything time they had a brawl in a bar, their aptitude to make their fists connected with the faces of violent folks impressed the tall man, who offered them a very risky job but with a load of money afterwards. He even went as far as giving them an advance of 20 credits to get themselves ready, as he said. Nothing that bad, they just had to go to a fancy ball, do some steps, talk the guards out of letting them go into a certain corridor and then steal the crap out of the ambassador.

"Why the high pay?" Asked the captain, immediately suspicious, even if Jayne was already grinning at the sight of so much money.

"Why not?" replied O'Brian, shrugging his shoulders in an innocent gesture. "Y'all are good people, I reckon, y'all probably deserve a lot for your… certain talent with things."

As soon as he spoke the words, River lifted up her hands to her face and groaned. "The core of a rotten apple!" She screamed as Zoe placed herself in front of River ; she tried to hide her from anyone's attention but it was too late. O'Brian had already eyed the slender girl who was whimpering in her corner, but Zoe made sure he also noticed the big gun in her hands. Captain, like always, understood he had to take control of the situation before things got worse.

"Seems like we are in a bit of a pickle here, O'Brian. Mind telling us what's the catch for this fine amount of gratitude?"

O'Brian signalled his men to lower their guns and scratched his chin. "Nothing the matter, Captain Reynolds, it just happens so that the job includes going to one of the core planets… not a dangerous one, of course, there's an ambassador taking care of Alliance business instead of, you know, officers and such. I don't think you have a problem knocking over ambassadors, yeah?"

"Oh, juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan...Deal's off, we ain't goin' near of any Alliance territory."

Mal was just about to turn around and signal his crew they were leaving when the man, starting to get nervous, threw another bag of coins on the ground. Folks like him, in the opinion of Mal, couldn't hide their nervosity even under layers of expensive clothes, which was a good thing for them.

"Fifty more." Mal stopped on his tracks, didn't look at the man. "Alright, you're hard to get but yeah, sixty more."

Now, any intelligent, logical, cautious man would have said no and left the place in a hurry. The deal was obviously a trap and if it wasn't, it was way too risky to accept it. With their luck, everything would go badly and he just couldn't get shot another time without getting pretty bad damages, the doc said. He wasn't gonna be able to fix him all the time, he whined. Well, ain't that going to stop 'em from getting a little spending money to, y'know, eat and repair the ship so she could shine again.

"Fine." Replied Mal, defying the man with his eyes. _You don't hold your part of the deal and there'll be trouble_, they seemed to say.

"Sir, I can't think this is a good idea." Zoe whispered in the ear of her captain. "Frankly, I think we should refuse the deal."

"Now, now, Zoe, trust me. That very honourable man insists things are going to be peachy, I don't see why we shouldn't trust him!"

"Oh, great." Zoe rolled her eyes and stood back as Mal took the bag of coins and without another word said, the whole group went back to Serenity, River being more dragged by Jayne than walking along with them. Gorramn moonbrain girl had stopped whimpering as soon as his hand got in touch with her skin, like she responded to the warmth or somethin', but she still was a hell of a girl.

Heh. He kinda liked that.


	3. Chapter 2 : Saying things as they are

Chapter two, yay! If you have comments, don't hesitate to leave them 

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Chapter 2 : Saying things as they are

"She is not going with you, dong ma?!"

Malcolm Reynolds had a hell of a headache talking to that doctor. Any time he started likin' a little bit Simon Tam, the overprotective brother side of him would ruin everything by his incessant complaining about him wanting to make his sister a part of the crew. Last time they went on an innocent bank-thieving mission, he had to yell at him, covering his face with spit, to get the girl with them. And, as the captain as he was, Mal started to get tired of this fei hua. Ain't she a good fighter or ain't she not?! He could always do with more fighters on missions. And, she was a pretty good damn reader, which was a valuable talent to have with them. Even after two years, he still couldn't forget Miranda.

"Gwon nee tze-jee duh shr, doctor! She ain't gonna sit out of this one, whatever you could say to me." Mal passed a hand on his eyes and continued walking towards the dining area. "Your sister belongs with us, kicking some Alliance asses."

"But she IS my business, she IS my SISTER! Last time, she almost got eaten by Reavers, by your fault! She could have died just right there and… and well, that, that wouldn't be a good thing, of course."

"Nice to see you not minding us rest of the crew dyin', I'll remember that."

Simon sighed as the captain sat down on one of the benches and started cleaning his gun. The captain hoped it would show the subject was closed but to no avail. "The point is still there, you know, she could have died! As her brother, I have the responsibility to make sure nothing happens to her.

"All that happened with her was that she swallowed a bug!"

"Some sorts of bugs are poisonous, you know!!" Simon shrieked.

Sigh. Double sigh. Cranky captain playin' with gun shouldn't have to explain things with his crew to make people obey him. Even when he tried to order people around nicely – really, not kidding, he said all his pleases and thank yous - , there was always this reluctant person to be more stern with. This time – and many times – it was Simon Tam.

"I don't care. She ain't a fragile, crazy broad, y'know. I feel strongly about her, she doesn't get so much in the way these days. She is getting better, we all noticed. So you take your oppositions and stick 'em somewhere else, she is goin' with us and that's final."

As he looked at the captain concentrating on his cleaning task, Simon opened his mouth to protest but nothing but air came out of his lips. For once, in his life, he had to say the captain had a point. His little mei-mei was getting better ever since Miranda. She still had her episodes, of course. Spitting out fei-oo sentences he couldn't quite understand, getting upset when nothing was wrong, defying big, burly men with their guns and rejoicing when she finds out she saved the crew from a horrible death.

But she got better.

She almost stopped aggressing the others, especially Jayne, who felt relieved that he wouldn't have to watch her when she got near a very sharp knife. She still saw butterflies in the cargo area but didn't try to catch them and fall off the staircases. And frankly, he himself was happy that he didn't have to medicate her before every night of sleep. River Tam was almost normal in her own, odd, way.

He sighed again, aware of his own inability to make the captain change his mind, and very quietly, walked through the blue-ish lights of Serenity's corridors, turned some corners, almost knocked Inara over because he was looking at his own feet and arrived at the infirmary where River was sitting on the stretcher. She looked so young, so fragile, with her small fists curled up on her knees and her ratty skirt floating around her thin legs. How could Mal think of bringing her on a mission?! Every time he looked at her, everything he saw the cold colors of the room reflect in her eyes, Simon Tam couldn't help but feel like she would break in a million piece at any time.

"She is like a ming vase in your mind." River murmured. Her eyes constantly fixed on the nothingness in front of her, she lowered her head. "She is not supposed to be what she really is."

"River, do you feel okay? Why are you here?"

"You are trying to stop the flow of the river but nothing will make her happier than to let the water go." The young woman looked at her brother ; he never had seen her seem so determined to do anything in her life. Oddly enough, the picture of her being fragile kind of just broke in his mind. "I am what I am, Simon. I am what they made me to be."

Ever since he rescued her, Simon never saw her that lucid about what happened to her and he was scared to discover whether it was a good thing or not. He still remembered that jab to his throat and that fierceful kick she gave him on that one day.

"You could also be what you were before… bao-bei, you're doing better, you could do it."

"Useful. The moon-brained girl could help. Want to help. Will help the Captain. Will make the whole ship feel better about her crew. We need the money, Captain thinks."

Slowly, gracefully, she let her feet touch the cold floor and touched her brother's arm to put hers around his body. He smelt like disinfectant and Kaylee. Like worry, too. River placed her face against his chest which surprised him as she wasn't prone to show physical affection towards, well, anybody.

"There is no place in our minds for this. Let her go do what she does best. She'll surprise you."

Simon thought a little while about what she said and grabbed her shoulder to look at her in the eyes. "Fine, mei-mei, I get it. I understand. But if that man lets anything happen to one of your hair, Ni ta ma de. Tianxia suoyoude ren. Dou gaisi!"

River rolled her eyes at her brother and let go of him to cross her arms on her chest, warming her hands with her pull-over while he went to do something else – he knew she wouldn't extent on the subject. She didn't win the game but at least, he was not going to make trouble for a certain time. River thought she could be of use to the crew and, as many other things she thought about, it would probably come true. Weapon in her head, she knew. This arm, as sharp as a sword. Those feet, too quick for the eyes. They were sometimes afraid of her, afraid she might get bad again and hurt their bodies.

"No, that is not true." She told herself, without realizing she wasn't just thinking anymore. "There is one of them who respects it, who doesn't think badly of it. Just don't want to get hurt is all."

Simon lifted up his head from checking on the reserves once more. "What did you say, mei-mei? Who are you talking about?"

"He sees me as who I really am. None of that go-sei fei hua. She feels safe now."

And, on those very puzzling words, she fled out of the infirmary, leaving Simon wondering what the guay was that all about. Well, it's not like he always understood what her sister meant after her sejour in the Academy. He got used to it.

River couldn't get used to it. She just couldn't comprehend how things could be so clear in her mind sometimes, not never. They were crystal-clear, like she was looking at the other side of a window and the glass had been freshly cleaned. It just felt so weird knowing that she could have thoughts that made sense both in her head and for other people. Sometimes, she wouldn't express them very well, but it wasn't like the rest of the children were forcing themselves to understand. That she could understand. The children were busy with violence, mating, eating, playing. So, when they realized she got better after the dead people went away, she secretly was very glad.

River could be understood again.

Well, for one of them, it was still a no-go. The ape-man, no matter how well she would express herself, would not understand the girl. Hurt. She felt, in her very core, that they were similar, and thought that bodies of the same nature should be able to rely on each other. To have a link between them, to be able to communicate. It, she had realized, frustrated her to a point where she wanted him to notice her. Well, River knew he noticed her, sometimes, when she would have an episode, but those were very much less frequent since Miranda.

It also seemed she was the only one who beneficiated from their trip to the dead planet. Captain got even unhappier and disillusioned than before, something he now shared with Inara, who finally got honest with herself. Good for her, River thought. She liked the woman and her spicy smell. Kaylee smiled a little bit less often. River found this to be a shame since the mechanic was the heart of the ship. Serenity, herself, was silent like always but wept, wept so much for the loss of her pilot, like Zoe who became a mess for many months. Not that it was unexpected of the soldier who still did her job perfectly but who spent too much time in her bed fixing the ceiling. Serenity missed her greatly but respected her grieving. Simon, the doctor, like usually, spent most of his time worrying about the River's well-being and his free time bedding with Kaylee, but River found him to be upset about the events and the deaths. He didn't like the deaths at all.

And then, there was Jayne. The man they called Jayne. The, according to the good folks of Canton, hero Jayne.


	4. Chapter 3 : Before the storm

Hi people :D

I've noticed that you've been reading my fic ; I hope you still like it and don't plan on hitting me with tomatoes because, frankly, I don't like tomatoes. I haven't had time to write lately (I was busy taking pictures of zombies!) so this is the last written part until I get myself to write the next one. It won't be so hard, I feel inspired already!

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Chapter three : Before the storm

Inara sat down on one of the benches after carefully making sure that none of the nails were sticking out – she didn't want her silky gold dress to have a rip in it, it would have been a shame. Slowly, around her, the crew of Serenity were appearing from the various entrances to the dining area. Inara felt nervous and started fiddling with her cup of tea, moving it in a circular motion on the table. She knew the captain had a new gig to do but this time, she didn't know why, she felt like it would go wrong. Well okay, it always went wrong but now that they destroyed the walls around their hearts, the idea of the possible death of her captain made her sick with worry. Particularly on this day, she thanked Buddha to be so much in control of herself at all moment. Mal didn't have to know how worried she was about his well-being when he had to make some money.

On her left, Kaylee sat down, sliding an arm under Inara's like usual. Her cheeks were red from, Inara supposed, the excitement the new mission would bring. Kaylee kept touching her pendant, a gift from Simon, until Jayne made a rude comment about her fondling herself. On the right side of Inara was Zoe, who was silent like usual. The retired companion glanced at her : Zoe's face was hard as stone.

"Come on people, get installed." Urged Mal, always the patient man.

On the other bench, Jayne sat down at one end and Simon went to sit down next to him – even though he didn't really want to – but River went out of her way to take the place next to the mercenary who "grumpfed" then grabbed an apple to eat noisily.

"A'ight. So, we have a new work deal, people." Mal announced, putting his hands on the table. "It's not too complicated but we'll have to get prepared in advance. And if things could go right this time, we'll be nicely paid. I don't want any complaints, dong ma?"

"Sir, I don't trust him." Said Zoe in a flat voice – she had expressed her thoughts many times to the captain. "I think he's worse than Badger and ain't somebody in the 'verse that despises him more than I."

"I know that, and I've taken notice of it, but the money's too good to pass on, and it gives us a little shindig to have fun during instead of rolling in the mud and shootin' people."

"I don't mind shootin' people," Jayne said then added, under the dark glances of many of the crew : "when it's my job, for ruttin' sake."

"Eat or to be eaten." Whispered River.

"Now, ya see, the girl gets it! End of th'world is near."

River hit him in the ribs with her elbow, something she got used to do every time he said something that didn't please her, and concentrated on what the Captain was saying. Of course, she already knew what he was going to announce, but she felt oddly giddy at the thought of seeing for herself the reaction of the rest of the crew.

"What do you mean, a shindig?" Kaylee asked, her eyes brightening at the idea of going to another fancy reception.

"I mean, a soirée with some kind of ambassador. I won't lie to you, it's risky. We shouldn't get into as much trouble as back in the days, but still, things could get ugly, and that's why River and Jayne are coming with me for the fighting business. No offense Zoe, you know I think you can handle yourself."

"Hmm, yeah, I know." Zoe replied. She already knew what the plan was since the Captain asked her for her opinion beforehand, so she didn't mind so much as she didn't feel like dressing up – not her style. She turned her head towards the others, who looked a little bewildered. "I ain't coming because I'm driving the shuttle. Kaylee, I hate to tell you this, but you're not going either. We'll be teaming up."

"Really?!" Jayne's head jerked up with a grin stretching from ear to ear.

"Now that we have seen the dah bien-hwa in Jayne's behavior, let's continue, hmm?" Mal said. When Inara left up her hand, he shrugged. "Keep your questions for the end, please. So, huh, yeah, Zoe and little Kaylee in the shuttle. Kaylee, I'll need you to haul up the material. It's not too heavy but requires a bit of mechanics."

"Can do, Captain." Kaylee replied, a little bit defeated that she didn't get to go to the soirée. Even if they were in a low-key bar on the farthest planet in the 'verse, shindigs were always fun. Oh, the music, the people, heck, even that moonshine they sell sometimes that could turn your insides into goo, these were reason enough to go.

"Okay. Inara, you come with me. Yeah, you. I'll need your reputation to get in and mellow out the ambassador. Keeping his attention on us instead of something else, y'know? Plus, a single man draws attention more than a man with a seemingly beautiful woman on his arm."

"I'm.. not sure I get it, but I'll definitely need more information than that, Mal." She answered, her fingers still playing with her cup, the liquid inside already beginning to get cold. Not that it would matter ; her eyes were fixated on the Captain, the beverage way far out of her mind.

"And you'll get it, don't you worry. I already have my hands on a few invitations, we'll just need to pretty up ourselves and be there."

"What about me? Do I need to "pretty up" too?"

The doctor found this whole idea ludicrous and very dangerous but if River went there, he wouldn't mind. Of course, he already had the clothes for an evening, something he doubted the captain could say for himself. He glanced at Mal, who was passing his right hand on his chin.

"Nah doc, sorry." Zoe told Simon. "You'll be with sweet Kaylee and me in the shuttle. We'll need you ready with your medical supplies in case something happens." Obviously, he didn't like the position he had in the whole mission but refrained from complaining. Zoe's guess, the Captain already got to him and explained things as they were.

"Plus, I don't want the two of you," Mal added while pointing to the two Tams. "inside an Alliance ambassador together. It might just be that the warrant has been lifted, but I ain't ready to take that chance. We've found a way to get her inside, anyway."

"I'm not sure how I feel about this…"

"You don't need to feel anything, you just have to do your job." The browncoat man walked to the counter to take a glass of that fine wine Kaylee managed to create. "That leaves little River and Jayne. You guys are going to steal the goods. And yeah, Jayne, that means "dressin'-up"."

At that declaration, Jayne looked so shocked that River, who had never seen him that way, thought he would stay like that forever. She didn't want that to happen so she lightly pushed his arm. At the contact of the soft skin on his bare shoulder, the man reacted by looking disturbingly at the sister first and then he reported all of his attention on the captain.

"What the hell, Mal?! I ain't putting on clothes that looks like I'm a snob or somethin'! I'll steal the goods if you want me too, I'll break doors an' stuff, but I ain't dancing and prancing around with the moonbrained girl!"

Jayne got up so suddenly everybody else got surprised. No way he would put on a tie and, he didn't even want to think of it, shave himself. He knew there would be missions that required bein' subtile and suave, but that was Mal's job, not his ; his job entailed hitting people in the face and making sure the money was still in his pockets. No doubt about it, that was a ruttin' job.

"I don't care about your insecurities, Jayne, I need my mercenary in the ballroom with us and you get the action part of the mission, ain't that great?" Mal grinned.

"No, I don't like it at all! And why with the crazy sister?!"

At the wave of hostility coming from Jayne, River recoiled in her place and her eyes glistened. She thought it wouldn't be so bad : they would be like spies, smiling devilishly to fooled kings and taking the goods under their noses. They would be dirty, mean, but accomplices. They would finish their mission panting from the effort and sit down to gulp a bottle of whiskey, laughing about the good things that would happen during the day. Jayne didn't seem to think like that, though, and River felt rejected then did something that cut Jayne's complaining to a sudden halt.

She pouted.

He could see her eyes fillin' up with tears. Did she get her monthly hurting or something? Jayne didn't understand what was happening but once thing he knew for sure is that he hated her being all crying like that. Then she pouted, and the merc felt his manly resistances fall down as quickly as the doc frowned at him. Aw, hell. Now he had to be nice and stuff.

"Aw hell girl, I wasn't meaning that… well, you kinda were crazy!" River noticed the past tense and looked at him, trying so hard to read his simple mind that her eyes became two thin slits. "And that's not the point anyway! The point is, I ain't dressin'-up—"

"Yeah, yeah, we all get your point Jayne." Mal dismissed the man's protestations and continued explaining the plan. "The thing is, you don't have a choice, that's all. Now, the thing we gonna steal is a very old painting that, according to our contact, is dated from the Earth-that-was. Like I said Kaylee, it ain't heavy but needs precautions. I think that…"

As Mal explained to the crew how they were going to proceed, Jayne sat back on the bench roughly, making it shake and disturbing Simon and River, who stopped looking so sad. The mercenary crossed his arms on his chest, growled quietly and kept ignoring the guilt he felt. Never meant to hurt the sister.


	5. Chapter 4 : Dolls

Okay, this chapter is sooo girly and I apologize in advance for that! It had to be done, though ; dance parties always require a part when they get all happy preparing for the event :D I know it has taken me quite a while to write this part, with school and friends (and the small story I've been working on but shh). Anyway, it satisfies me and, as always, if you have something you'd like to comment on, I welcome reviews 

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Chapter four : Dolls

To be honest, real honest cross her heart, Zoe was secretely very glad she wasn't on the infiltration team for the mission. Seriously. The soldier in herself liked to be where the action was, where she could do some damage control when her boys felt like roughing up the locals. Or, you know, join in the fun when the locals deserved a lesson. But for that time, she would gladly pass on it and stay behind to get the merchandise in the ship with little Kaylee.

See, dresses weren't her thing. Zoe Wash wore a total of three dresses in her whole life and it felt plenty to her. The first one was a little black dress that showed her great legs in order to seduce her soon-to-be husband ; as soon as she realized why the man disturbed her, she knew he needed to be hers and went strutting in the piloting area just at the exact moment when - and she would always swear it was a pure coincidence if asked – the blond man was on all fours fixing something under the command panel. Didn't take more than that.

The second dress she wore was a nice cream-colored wedding dress that left her shoulders bare and snugged around her waist to flow all the way down to her excruciating high-heels. The wedding itself was very "her" : feminine yet very classy, the loving plastic dinosaurs on top of the cake pleasing her husband. Zoe could truly say that this day was the best of her life.

The third one was the white dress she wore to the funeral of her deceased husband. That one, she didn't like to think about it so much as it still felt like her heart was transpierced by a gigantic bullet. She got shot lots of times in the past, but it just wasn't the same.

When she saw the women of the ship flocking around and looking at fabrics in a dress shop, Zoe sighed silently and followed them two steps behind, her hand instinctively placed on her modified Winchester. Of course, she was feminine, she just wasn't as feminine as them girls. While Inara and Kaylee were gushing about the silkiness of a low-cut dress that was way too expensive for the budget the Captain gave them, Zoe turned her head around and looked at the various decorations. The medium-sized boutique had this smell of jasmin incense that pleased her and pleasant-looking chairs to sit down in the middle of the floor. A tall girl was showing the dress of her choice to her friend in the back of the store and, upon the nodding of said friend, went back behind the decorated opaque paper wall that separated the actual store from the fitting rooms. Oh, and the colors! The walls were all painted in a bright yet easy on the eyes orange, the doors and linings were in dark wood and the floor was made of black ceramic, something that pleased River because she liked to walk barefoot on cold surfaces. There were pillars scattered against the walls and flimsy veils connecting them to the celling. Mirrors conceiled between shelves of sky-high shoes, warm tea idling on a oak table somewhere, an asiatic woman gently pulling the string of her instrument sitting in a corner… they had chosen well the store to go buy their dresses to, there was no doubt about that.

"River, look at this beauty!" Kaylee said while touching a white dress with the tip of her fingers, almost afraid to dirty it. "Don'tcha want to try it on?"

River, on the other side of the store, didn't even need to glance at the one Kaylee was talking about to know it wasn't for her. It didn't talk to her. Plus, white always made her look like she was sick because her skin was so pale. No, she knew she would find the dress in the most secret of the corners, well-hidden under piles of non-important clothes. She wouldn't tell Kaylee though ; she'd let her enjoy the fun of looking at pretty skirts and corsets so tight you wouldn't even be able to breathe but looked so good on a woman. So, River continued shuffling through the racks, muttering to herself under her breath.

Zoe sat down on one of the chairs and started observing the three women. That's right, she would almost forget that little odd River was of age now. She started to accompany the crew – Zoe included – when they left the ship to get drunk off their asses. One night, when the doctor wasn't there, River even got drunk enough so that Jayne had to lift her up her chair and brought her back to Serenity in his arms. Not that it disturbed him greatly : he was strong enough to pick up that frail girl. She remembered being afraid that he would knock her on the walls and the doorframes, his feet not being used to the very difficult walk of the drunken man, but he delicately put the girl on her bed without so much as a bruise. Zoe knew that if Mal had seen that, he would have yelled so much at the grown mercenary that his throat would hurt but, that evening, he was half walking in the wrong direction, half trying to kiss Inara – in a gentlemanly way, of course. It was kind of cute, in a way. Then Jayne passed out in the hallway just outside of their bunks and woke up the day after with the worst hangover he ever had in his life.

Not that it was surprising of Jayne, she thought. She stretched her legs and slowly drank her tea.

A hour and a half later, the three women were still fumbling through the store's merchandise. None of them seemed to notice the desperate look on the clerk's faces and Zoe didn't care as long as she had free tea. She knew the captain was probably finished by that time and wondered if Jayne was finished too ; he was so resistant to the idea of wearing pants that didn't have a million pockets that Mal was sure he would have to threaten him in some way. By now, Inara had tried on at least a dozen evening gowns that went from dark blue to salmon pink, passing through her usual red and white. River kept searching for what she called her "new shiny friend". Kaylee tried one dress for fun but mostly made suggestions.

"I feel like wearing green." Inara suddenly said, her head perking up behind two racks. She turned towards the two women and showed her an exquisite dark green gown, which was decorated with round gold patterns. "What do you girls think? I know I don't usually wear green, but I don't usually go shopping with friends, so why not try something new?"

Zoe noticed the decrease in Inara's defenses and liked it ; a few months ago, the companion's defensive behavior had started to slip sometimes and she would allow herself to, well, be herself. Sure, most of the time, Inara was perfectly in control of her emotions but hey, a girls day out is a girls day out, right? She glanced at the piece of clothing Inara was holding up ; it was sleek, classy and showed too much cleavage for her own taste but would make heads turn. She observed the drape effect created on the bottom one shade lighter than the top and decided she liked the ornament on the hips that shimmered in the light.

"I like it." The soldier simply said.

"Awww, that sure is nice to look at!" Kaylee told Inara, a sweet smile on her lips. "That one's certain to make the cap'n blush!"

"Oh, shush, you!" Inara walked graciously towards the fitting rooms and entered one of them. When she came out, everybody agreed that it was the nicest one she tried on that day and, without any doubt about her choice, Inara bought it. She didn't bother looking at the shoes and jewelry, knowing that she had all she needed at home – her shuttle.

"Kwong-juh duh! Ladies, we ain't going to make it, we need to go now." Zoe announced to the relief of the store salespersons. "River, you need to choose now, sweetie."

"Dung ee-miao." The girl muttered. She grabbed a piece of fabric and went up to the counter to pay before anybody else could see exactly what it looked like.

---

Like Zoe thought, the men had long finished trying on fancy clothes and when the women returned to the ship, Jayne was busy placing crates outside of the secret hiding hole. Mal had told him they would probably need the space for the stolen merchandise and ordered him to move things around, to which he obliged nicely after an afternoon of unpleasant business, as he referred to "it". The big man lifted his head when he heard the noise of steps coming towards him but certainely didn't expect to see little River so near of him ; that moon-brained girl had that weird way of surprising him.

"Sweat suits you better than silk blouses." She told him, her hands joined in her back, her hair slightly loose on the right side of her head as she leaned forward. "You're a man."

"You havin' a moment of lucidity, girl?" Jayne replied with a grin. Oh, he wasn't mean, just pokin' fun… anyway, she didn't seem to mind so much. "Hell yeah, I'm a man, and don't you forget that."

"I never would."

She sat down on one of the crates ; he noticed her feet were bare again. She never looked like she was cold, or like the debris on the floor hurt her. One night, he had observed her dancing in the cargo area to a song only she could hear. It was so gracious, it reminded him of when his mother forced him to go to the _ballet_ at the age of ten. He was already pretty macho at that time, but the slight curves of the ladies got his attention and soon, he was amazed of how beautiful they looked when they twirled, when they stood up on their toes and jumped all around the stage. River always reminded him of that, so he shook the comparaison out of his head before the gorram reader of her could read his mind. Would snow in hell before he would admit he once liked to watch ballet.

"Jayne." River whispered his name so low that her lips hadn't moved. She looked at him while he was doing his thing and lifting up a box of nutriments. "You don't know how to dance."

"Huh?! What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well," she said, moving her legs under her. "we are going to a dance. And people dance there. Should you accompany me, you'll need to learn. It would be fun."

Jayne had started to feel anger rising in him – he would never let such a tiny girl be so insolent with him and give him orders like that – but she flashed a smile so bright that it stunned him. Of course, she wanted him to learn, girls liked to dance in their pretty dresses. Embarrassed, Jayne put down the box and scratched his head. What did she want him to say back? That he would ask Inara for lessons for an once-in-a-lifetime occasion?

Now, there was a few things Jayne Cobb was good at and pleasuring ladies other than with his body was not one of them. Ok, technically, he had to use his body for this one, but not like that! It seemed to Jayne that lately, the crazy sister found more and more ways to leave him stumped on what to reply. He knew it often happened that he didn't have anything to say back but that was because he didn't care that much and had more interesting things to do than that – like cleaning Vera, for example. River wasn't a gun, obviously, but for some reason, she seemed _interesting_ that day.

While she kept silent, her eyes fixed on an imaginary point on the wall, Jayne shot glances at the girl sitting down, her thin but strong legs curved under her hips. Y'know, if a man was to look at her, he would probably find her… pretty. Yeah, Jayne supposed she could go as goddamned good-looking, especially when her irritating mouth was closed. He was used to ladies with more ample bosoms and proeminent breasts but in her way, River Tam was attractive. The skin of her bare shoulders catched the light while her loose brown hair made her face look _feminine_. The worn-out combat boots had been thrown in a corner and they just laid there, one on its side, the other still up but leaning towards the other. As usual, she wore one of her flimsy blue skirts and a black sweatshirt too big for her arms, but it looked comfortable on her. For a second, Jayne wondered what it would feel like to hold her in his arms as she was wearing that shirt ; he imagined it would be warm, soft, pleasant. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, River locked her eyes in his and he felt oh so very awkward.

"Wh-what?!" He blurted, frowning.

Slowly, not in a hurry, River stood up and walked towards him, her skirt moving each time her thighs muscles made a contraction, her shoulders slightly aback. She opened her mouth and Jayne swore she smelt like rain in a thunderstorm.

"C'mon girl, what's in that noggin of yours?!"

"Don't tell me a girl like me scares you, Jayne Cobb." She replied with a strange accent. "I could tell you the wonders that are taking place in my brain, if you'd care to listen. But, for now, I definitely think black will suit you."

On those words, she put her hand on his chest, tapped on it three times and, with a satisfied smile, climbed up the stairs to disappear in one of the corridors. Jayne, left alone with his remaining crates, exhaled the breath he was holding in – without really realizing it – since River had touched him with her magic fingers.

_Women_.


End file.
